Willful Blindness

Willful blindness, also known as conscious avoidance, is a judicially-made doctrine that expands the definition of knowledge to include closing one's eyes to the high probability a fact exists. While the doctrine originated in the context of drug trafficking cases, it has since been expanded to a wide array of prosecutions and is increasingly used in white collar cases. The use of the willful blindness doctrine in criminal prosecutions is deeply troubling. NACDL not only opposes further expansion of this doctrine, but is working to reform its use and influence in the criminal justice system.